Chlamydia: symptoms and treatments

What happens if Chlamydia goes untreated?
In women, Chlamydia can lead to severe lower abdominal pain due to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This occurs when infection spreads to the Fallopian tubes and causes them to become swollen and sometimes blocked with scar tissue. Unfortunately, after a single attack of PID, around one in eight women have difficulty conceiving naturally - the risk increases with further attacks.

If you do get pregnant after PID, there is an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy (where the fertilised egg gets stuck in a Fallopian tube on its way down to the womb. It then starts developing in the tube rather than in the womb, which can burst to cause severe abdominal pain). This is a dangerous condition if not diagnosed and treated early.

A baby can also pick up Chlamydia during childbirth and develop a form of conjunctivitis, which must be treated to prevent damage to the cornea of the eye.

Chlamydia can spread to cause inflammation of the prostate gland or testicles (epididymo-orchitis) in men. It can also trigger an immunological reaction called Reiter's syndrome in one per cent of affected men. Reiter's syndrome is diagnosed by the presence of inflammation of the urethra (urethritis), bilateral conjunctivitis (and sometimes uveitis - inflammation of the lining of the eye, including the iris) plus inflammation of one or more joints (arthritis). Most men with Reiter's syndrome have recently had sex with someone new, which was followed by urethral inflammation and discharge.

Treatment of Reiter's arthritis is with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. The inflammation - which may be due to Chlamydia - is treated with antibiotics. Most first attacks resolve within two to six months, but recovery can be as long as a year. Unfortunately, the arthritis flares up again in a third of cases.

If you're worried you have an STI or want to find out more, check out the symptoms, diagnosis and treatments for:

• Genital herpes (HSV)
• Genital warts
• Gonorrhoea
• HIV and AIDS
• Pubic lice
• Scabies
• Syphilis
• Trichomonas